Stone Tool Industry Research Articles

Reversed magnetic polarity at an early Lower Palaeolithic site in Central Italy

Isernia La Pineta central Italy is an extensive open-air archaeological site of early Lower Palaeolithic aspect. Radiometric and palaeomagnetic dating place it in the Matuyama reversed epoch, hence before 0.73 Myr. Its early date, stratified context, abundant stone tool industry of choppers and flakes and rich faunal remains make it one of the most important localities for the question of the earliest human colonization of Europe. The archaeological horizons (Fig. 1) were discovered during recent road-building operations at 4 m below surface near the city of Isernia (Upper Volturno Basin, Province of Molise; see Fig. 2). Excavations in 1979 and 1980 carried out in two areas (sectors I and II; Fig. 2) revealed dense scatters of limestone choppers, flint flakes and disarticulated bones of large mammals. Similar occurrences have been found elsewhere in the valley. Previous accounts1,2 are revised herein.

Preceramic Transhumance in the Callejón de Huaylas, Peru

AbstractThe nature of the connections between coastal and highland Peru is a largely unresolved problem. Seasonal transhumance in the sierra zone, suspected in preceramic times, may bear on the beginnings of Andean agriculture. The preceramic occupation of the upper Santa Valley spans a wide range of environments and types of sites, which probably represent related facies of a single cultural cycle. The sites include high elevation hunting camps, workshops, open air river terrace sites, and a dry cave in which plant remains are well preserved. It is thought that preceramic hunter-gatherers migrated regularly from one elevation and environmental zone to another, and that this should be systematically reflected in the frequencies of various classes of artifacts in the stone tool industries.